The Last Winter
by Novelizer
Summary: Its been a long journey so far, but Winter out of all the seasons has been the worst. With new scars to add to the battle wounds Ellie fights for peace of mind, and the newfound paternal love Joel is beginning to show. (officially turned multi-chapter)
1. Winter Nightmares

**The Last Winter **

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**The ** Winter that year is long and harsh. Leaving its mark on all who are forced to bare through it. Gritting their teeth and stealing themselves against each bitter snap it brings. Somehow making it through the the vert end; Starving and Emaciated. Like stray dogs left to the back alleys of a dilapidated city. Wasting away the trash and rats that find refuge in the dark and cold places. Despite these harsh images brought to mind, there is still a certain beauty to winter. A certain way the light sines on the freshly fallen snow and the way the sky turns white - as if all color has been sapped away by the snow itself.

Ellie still doesn't like winter. Because with the winter comes horrible nightmares that leave her gasping in throes of agony, wishing day by day that they would just leave her alone. Just let her be peaceful for one second in time. In the winter, the innocent sounds the earth around her makes turns sinister, malevolent. They become the sound of a sadistic mans cruel laughter, and the shapes of dead trees outlined in the distance become his body. Ellie shivers, pulls her jacket tighter around her body and hunkers down close to Joel and the campfire. If he were not there she couldn't go on - but he is, and she is glad for those tiny moments of reprieve he brings her. Joel doesn't talk about what happened much, and really only when she is the one to bring it up. He can see clearly the look in her eyes that tells of her true feelings, but he doesn't push, and he doesn't ever ask what's wrong.

She's glad for these facts.

Sometimes the snow brings hallucinations. Mirages in the distance that seem to fade only seconds before reaching them. Ellie knows that these day time hallucinations are not real, that there's no possible way David survived and is there, unmarred by a single wound and still seething with anger. She often thinks though that maybe this is her punishment for all the bad she and Joel have done. All the lives they have destroyed as a means to an end. Convincing themselves day by day that if it weren't the others to do, then it would be them on the receiving end of a smoking gun. Left to rot, and be decomposed for the greater beauty of the land. Return to the earth, as its always meant to be. Sometimes though, Ellie thinks its_ blessing_ to see David. Its good sometimes, that she can see he isn't there anymore and only a hallucination brought on by_ fear_. She likes knowing that even if she see's his face, there's _nothing_ he can do to her anymore - definitely not while Joel is around to keep her safe; Not that she can't take care of herself of course. Ellie is strong and independent. But there's always that nagging fear at the back of her mind.

"Best get some sleep girl," Joel mutters, covering his face by the brim of an old cowboy hat he found not too long before to keep the wind off his face in the night. Its hard to sleep in these conditions, hunkered down in a garden shed barely reinforced by flimsy walls that seem to breathe and sway with the motions of the wind. In a way, she finds it easy to smile. Joel puts up a good front, but he cares - she _knows _he cares. With simple words and gestures sure, but its still something to make Ellie feel safe in his presence. _"Ellie,"_ Joel warns, jostling her lightly. "Sleep," He insists. Both of them have a long day ahead of them tomorrow. Finding the Fireflies and all...

"okay," Ellie replies, bundling up next to him with barely more than a sheet between them.

Its been like this for a while, sleeping close together. She can't sleep without him next to her, to remind her in the depths of the night that she isn't alone. His breathing becomes entrancing, the rhythm quick with nightmarish sleep. Ellie wonders what he's dreaming of, laying there, with the space of hours stretched out between them. She doesn't know how long she lays with her eyes open, just watching the rise and fall of Joel's chest beside her. But eventually, and with little trouble her breathing begins to match his.

And with a final, at peace smile she falls into a steady sleep; For once, without nightmares.

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**A/N:** Hey guys this is Novelizer here, posting _my_ first official story on here. At the moment its just a one-shot but I'm thinking about turning it into a full out story that details the Winter and maybe advance beyond to after the Firefly incident. Please tell me what you think. I'm not sure if I got their personalities down very well, I felt good about how this turned out and it was uber fun to write. I won't make this multi-chapter unless people will actually want to read it, so please review and all that jazz.


	2. Infection pt (1 of 3)

**The Last Winter **

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**Two** hours ago a snow storm finally blew its way out, leaving trails of fresh planted snow in its wake. Ellie smiles, all her pent up energy being released from her body as she stretches away the nights spent cooped up in the Shed. They are in a rural area, all farmland with a few houses here and there. They hadn't had time to check it out before; they were too busy trying to find a safe place to wait out the storm and hide from any left overs from David's group.

Ellie follows behind Joel, quiet, but not silent as she whistles lightly to herself - man is she glad she finally figured out how to do it. Joel of course, trudges ahead, weary but alert. Often hissing at Ellie and spitting like a deranged cat, which always makes Ellie laugh, even if she's somewhat exaggerating the silencing action. There's nothing to worry about, if her time without Joel has taught her anything its how to be alert. How to listen to every sound her surroundings make without having to be quiet. Her time away has taught her the difference between an infected and the sound of animals. And right now, in the bright and shiny early morning there is no sound to be heard.

No groaning Runners, no clicking Clickers, and more thankfully no human sounds to be heard anywhere.

"Keep up Ellie!" Joel calls from further ahead, somehow getting farther than Ellie had noticed before. She jogs to catch up, liking the feeling of being out in the open again - this time with Joel. However, she does notice something off in the way he walks. His wound must be hurting, but she doesn't know how to ask if he's okay. They have an unspoken rule between them for the moment. Don't ask unless the topic is brought up by the other, and she wants to keep it that way. But still...She sighs, scratching her tangled auburn hair and moving in beside Joel; she's made up her mind. He seems almost curious as to what she's doing until she has him stopped and his jacket lifted to show the edges of the bandages. He tries not to shake her off, because the movement would most likely hurt. "Shit Joel, its infected." Ellie curses, worry creasing her brows as she looks at the wound. Though its mostly healed over and the skin on top has become flaky, there's still an ugly blood red line that stretches around the edges of the raised portion of the wound, and a faint smell of rot.

"I'm fine," Joel mumbles, looking far worse than he had this morning. "Yeah," Ellie snorts, "And I'm a fucking giraffe. We need to find somewhere to rest, and get _that_ mess taken care of before you're entire stomach falls off." Ellie fits her hand into Joel's. Leading him further ahead, to a place they can sit safely and Ellie can look over the wound properly.

"This is bad," Ellie mumbles to herself, "Really, really bad." She's no medic but she can tell when something isn't right, and this wound definitely doesn't look right. How long have they gone without changing the bandages? Shit, she remembers the last time being just before...just before she met..._David_. They had been so busy after that, running, and trying to find a place to hide far away from that _place_ that both of them forgot completely about Joel's wound or the damage it would cause to be getting so dirty. By the time they reached the Shed, they had both forgotten to even check the damn thing. "This is my fault," She groans.

"Its not your fault," Joel reprimands sharply, moving to pull his shirt and jacket back down. "We can find somewhere to scavenge, see if there's any medical supplies around. It doesn't look as bad as your making it out to be, and we've - _I've -_ recovered from worse." As true as the statement is, Ellie is still skeptical. But they are bound to find something laying around one of these farm houses. "Okay," She answers more determined than ever. "Just don't pass out on me, your heavy." Even though her joke falls short they still share a tiny smile - a spark of something hidden behind them. There's been a slight shift in their behavior since what has happened. They don't walk so far apart and there's more conversation between them, even if its meaningless drabble to break the silence.

Joel leads them to the closest farmhouse just a short walk from the Shed; they _were_ going to avoid it completely but Ellie _insisted _that the place probably had some form of medical supplies in it. Joel couldn't argue that point, but still...The place looked as if it would collapse on them at any moment, and as he tests his weight on the snow soggy wooden porch steps his suspicions about the old house are confirmed - the boards are rotten to the core. "I'm lighter, ill walk ahead and test the boards." Ellie tells him, moving ahead of Joel and barely making the boards squeak. "Ellie wait," Joel doesn't get the chance to protest further before Ellie disappears into the gaping doorway of the old house. "Shit," He hisses out, following as quickly as he can after her.

They fall into a quick pattern of step-where-I-step until reaching an area of the house that isn't so rotten through. Luckily, there are no infected but there also isn't much sign that there's anything here to scavenge. Worse yet Ellie returns from her foray up the stairs carrying her hands a recently emptied tin food. "Be on your guard," He tells her all to seriously, and warningly as she is known to have a bad streak when meeting with other survivors. "Think there's a group around here?" Ellie asks as they return outside to make the walk to the next farmhouse up the road. Joel's funny walk has gotten worse, but he isn't yet complaining so Ellie doesn't bother to ask him how he's doing. "Maybe," Joel's answer is short and gruff. They lapse into comfortable silence.

After searching through two more houses and finding only an expired bottle of penicillin they decide to stop for the night, sticking to one of the farm houses farther up the road that was relatively safe looking. It has only two front facing windows and one level - ranch style - with two bedrooms. This would be the last they would check out before retiring for the night, and hopefully getting Joel he rest he so greatly needs. Ellie wants to suggest cleaning and changing the bandages on the wound, but bites her tongue. He doesn't need her to worry over him, its not like they are family...and with those thoughts in her mind she tries to sleep in the second bedroom, away from Joel to give him space that he hasn't even asked for. Ellie doesn't know why she feels so adamant now about creating a space between them. But she has a nagging feeling that its because she knows somewhere in the back of her mind that they are getting too close and that anyone she gets close to always meets an unfortunate end. Just like Riley, or Tess, and even if it isn't her fault her mother as well - even Marlene if she didn't make it through.

But, the nightmares persist tonight. Waking her up endlessly until finally she realizes the sounds of voices in her dreams are not actually in her dreams but close by. She suddenly springs into alertness, rushing to the next room over and to Joel's side. He sleeps deeper now, wrecked with fever from infection. Even with the expired Penicillin it isn't enough and she has to shake him forcefully back into consciousness to get him to get up. Her fear is almost tangible - and she realizes that she thinks its David and his group out there. "Damn it Joel get up!" She hisses, watching him get up groggily. "Someone's here," She tells him.

Its like some switch is turned on in his brain and he reaches for his weapons. Getting everything placed back on him quickly and moving to the window to check outside. Ellie hears the door the farm house open - its squeaking hinges unmistakable. It has them both crouching down, guns in hand and creeping along to the hallway where the intruders are no doubt heading for. "Damn it," Ellie hears Joel curse, looking over to him in concern. He looks pained, holding his wound with one hand. "Get back to the room Ellie," He whispers to her. She shakes her head, concern written on her features. No fucking way was she going to leave him out here, even if she was scared out of her mind and shaking horribly - hell, she just notices she's shaking so hard her teeth are rattling in her skull. "_Ellie_," Joel warns, "_Go back to the room_, wait for me there." His voice is all authority, something that Ellie isn't much used to obeying. But, she does obey, teeth gritted to keep from making some snarky remark.

...Its torture waiting for Joel, only able to hear sounds and nothing more. One shot was fired, one fucking shot and she still can't barely make out the voices and tell whose they are. Just in case, she has her gun at the ready to shoot her way out if necessary; if only she could stop _shaking. _

* * *

Joel bites his tongue to keep from making pained noises as he edges along the hallway towards the kitchen area, where the voices are most prominent now. He holds his gun at the ready, willing if need be to slaughter everyone here for the sake of keeping Ellie and himself alive. He waits, listening at the kitchen entryway to the voices - of which he counts at least four. They seem to be sitting at the table, he hears someone getting up, the chair scraping against the wooden floor as they do. He notes, the voices sound like kid's he notes after a few moments of listening. Two kids - girls, one older man, and a woman. A family most likely, come to take refuge or possibly they live there on the farmlands.

Knowing now that there is no danger he begins making his way back towards the room, and Ellie to tell her they can just sneak out. Leave the family in peace. But he misses the shadow that is cast over him suddenly, until he is looking up the barrel of a shotgun to a boy about Ellie's age. "Put the gun down," the boy says. Joel listens for the sake of not having any blood shed. He raises his hands too, for good measure and waits for the boy to give more orders. "Stand up," and Joel listens, waiting until the boy is satisfied. The boy is about to walk him to the kitchen when Joel surges forward to grab the shotgun from his hands, his wound twanging with pain and knocking him off balance. He grabs the gun but is unable to knock the boys grip away, and both of them fall to the floor with the gun between them. The boy pulls the trigger, shocked by the action, and Joel cringes as it goes off. For a second all falls still as the two of them do a mental check of where the gun is pointing - away from both of thankfully.

Joel elbows the boy in the gut and wrenches the rest of the Shotgun from his grip, backing away and leaning on the wall -panting from the exertion. From the mixture of his wound, a slight fever, and the exhaustion Joel finds it harder and harder to clear away the drunken fog. He knows this fog all too well, and has felt it far too many times in his life. And as the pain grows and grows, he feels the blackness overwhelm him, and the floor rushes to meet his face.

* * *

It's been too long, Ellie decides. She's out of patience waiting for Joel and has to know what's going on. She can still hear voices, but none of them are his. _'Oh hell,'_ she thinks to herself, _'fuck I hope he didn't get shot.'_her heart thumps in her chest, praying to god he hasn't gotten even more hurt because of her. She doesn't feel like there's anymore need to hide, taking out her own gun and stepping into the doorway to the Kitchen without hesitation.

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**A/N: ** It was getting a tad long so I cut it off there. I decided this would be multi-chapter. Most likely updated every Saturday/and some Sunday nights. Please tell me what you think so far. I'm trying to stick close to their personalities and such. Also about Joel's wound, I know it had quite some time to heal but since he was barely healed by the time Ellie was captured and woke up only because of the antibiotics I don't believe the wound was fully healed and thus still susceptible to infection. I won't spend too much time on Joel being hurt though, its really only going to be a feature of this chapter to progress into the storyline some more and give a little insight on Ellie's guilt. Please Review and tell me what you think.


	3. Infection pt (2 of 3)

**A/N:** Before we get too far I want to apologize for the long opening sequence with characters that you don't know. It doesn't much serve a purpose other than I needed to set up what happens after Joel's collapse that isn't in the viewpoint of Ellie or some omniscient being that has no idea what the names of the people are. So for the sake of creating a small bit of emotional bond with the characters I'll tell you a bit about them now.

There's sisters Medina (37) and Audici (10) Sulijmani (Odyssey is how its pronounced) who have been travelling for years with an older man named Brian Westbrook (72) (Fun fact these characters belong to a friend of mine who role-played them in a The Last Of Us role-play.) Whom is an ex-hunter/smuggler who lost his entire family due to his own self serving nature and attitude.

Then the other two characters are siblings Jamie (6) and Trevor (19) Fredrickson (Not so fun fact: Jamie is not actually Trevor's little sister but rather the daughter of a Soldier whom died during a Firefly attack on their settlement, Trevor's parents were still alive at the time and took the girl in ), who have very little purpose in the story itself besides Trevor being one of the few in the group who is able to handle guns do to his military academy (Or rather quarantine zone orphanage) background.

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**The Last Winter**

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"Oh shit," Trevor stares down at the collapsed man. His fingers trembling as he picks up the fallen gun. He trains it on the man but he doesn't get back up. So he rushes to his side, getting an arm under him and dragging him into the kitchen with the others. Medina is the first to get up, concerned. Brian is the second, scowling as he moves to Trevor's other side to help support the unconscious man. "I knew this place wouldn't be safe." The oldest man mumbles angrily, helping Trevor lay him out on the table. Medina spots a swelling of blood just under his shirt and pulls it up, gaping at the wound wearily. "Holy shit, do you see this?" Though he is a stranger there's no way that Medina can just let this guy die. She moves to one of their discarded bags in the corner of the room, picking out a few of the medical kits. There isn't much in any of them so its a mix and match of what to use on the mans wound.

"Stop fussing over him Medina, he's a fucking stranger," Brian hisses, watching his young companion patching up a man they barely knew. Who had just seconds ago attacked Trevor and probably was planning to slaughter them all.

Brian figures the man is a Hunter, though he is a little old in age. Maybe an ex-Hunter in the least like Brian himself. "A hurt stranger," Medina quips, shooting Brian a venomous look. "So, he isn't one of us, for all we know he could be a damn Hunter."

"I told you he had a kid with him, I saw them earlier a few houses down." Audici pipes up from her spot, playing with Jamie on the ground. "Yeah, we've seen 'em with kids before. Mighta been keepin' her for another reason," Brian answers angrily, still scowling. He doesn't understand his companions need to help out strangers, it will always end badly for them. He watches Medina as she applies the last of _their _antibiotic cream to the mans wound and the last of _their _bandages to patch him up. For all they knew the second the man got up he would try to slaughter them all, and there would only be Trevor and Brian to try and stop him. Audici and Jamie hardly know how to use a gun, and Medina can't do much with her hands; practically nothing but charred remnants since the fire that drove them from the quarantine zone they had met up in.

"that's sick Brian, Look, he would have killed Trevor if he was going to." Trevor nods, remembering that the man had been about to return back to the room that Trevor watched him come out of. "He was only trying to disarm me," Trevor tells Brian, even though the oldest man already knows...

"Do you hear that?" Brian says suddenly, hushing the entire room into silence. He grabs the gun from Trevor and moves to stand just beside the doorway. There's definitely the sound of quiet footsteps from down the hall. He puts a finger to his lips to shush the others, waiting patiently for the stranger to surface. "Don't hurt them," Medina pleads, compassion alight in her eyes. But the second the stranger steps into the room he uses the butt of the gun to hit her in the head...

* * *

"Fuck!" Ellie see's stars for a second, falling to her knees as a wave of nausea overtakes her. She feels arms on her, pulling her up from the ground and locking her to a body. She struggles, panicking from being restrained. For a long moment she seems to flash back to hiding from David, trying to avoid the blade he threatened to kill her with. She stomps her foot down on the man's booted foot and pries herself away, dizzy.

She scrambles to grab a hold of one of her weapons, but when she looks back the man has her bag in his hands. She looks around in a panic, spotting Joel on the table. She spots the fresh bandages and pauses. "Joel?" He doesn't respond, he's unconscious. She takes a step back to survey the scene, the man isn't the only adult in the room but there's also two little girls, looking shocked at the sudden skirmish. Then there's a kindly faced woman stepping into her view, kneeling down as if Ellie is a frightened child that needs comfort.

"We aren't going to hurt you honey," Says the woman. Ellie zones in on the man holding her bag as he snorts, seeming less on board with the woman's plan. "Yeah, then keep a leash on that asshole." Ellie remarks snidely, stepping away from the woman and closer to Joel. The woman seems to find her remark funny, "Brian just didn't want anyone to get hurt, I'm sure you understand that."

Even though Ellie isn't too sure about what's going on she nods. She is still weary about the strange people she allows herself to relax somewhat - if they were going to kill her or Joel they would both be dead already. Plus they have kids, so there's no way they are hunters. Ellie looks over to the kids again, two little girls sitting on the floor with a few toys spread out between them. If this were a different time this would be normal, but this is now and Ellie figures the two kids are trying to keep their minds off of what's going on. She swallows back a little bit of blood - probably from biting her lip when she got hit.

"Trevor can you take the girls to the other room?" the woman asks a tall ginger headed man whose face is more freckle than skin. Ellie watches him as he helps the kids pick up the sparse amount of toys and head out of the room. She turns back to the woman, then looks to the man - Brian angrily. "Can I have my bag back?"

"Are you going to try and shoot us?" Brian sneers back. Ellie crosses her arms, "I could make an exception for you, but I hadn't planned on doing so." She snaps back, irritated by the older man. He smirks then. Impressed by the kids general lack of respect and biting tone. He holds the bag out to her, watching her snatch it from his hands and return to Joel's side. Ellie keeps her hands free, in case she still needs to fight back. "He probably won't wake up for a while, why don't we have a little chat?" The woman asks, smiling kindly. Its been a while since Ellie has seen a genuinely kind person - besides Joel of course whose kindness is more gruff than anything.

'If they were going to kill us they would have.' Ellie thinks to herself. "Alright," She says, following the woman to the living room.

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**A/N:** I'm sorry this chapter is kind of lame, I wrote out such a beautiful 3,045 word document that decided to disappear after I mistyped something on the keyboard and I couldn't get it back. And I'm already passed by deadline I've set for myself so I rushed to put something together in an instant. So, as compensation for this poorly written and ended chapter I'm going to throw two at you guys next weekend! Please tell me what you think, did I really do as bad as I thought? Originally the OC characters were given more of a background and this would have extended but since my original document disappeared I decided to cut their time short since neither of them are going to go further than having an appearance in the next chapter or so.


	4. Authors Note

A/N: Sooo...I've missed two updates now and I am so very sorry about that. Honestly I wouldn't have gotten behind if I didn't have something verg important happen which I want to share with you because it has me so happy and excited right now.

Two weeks ago I woke up at four AM to extreme contractions, I was only eight months pregnant but apparently our little baby thought it time to say hello to the world. We spent little over a week in the hospital to make sure she was alright, her vitals were somewhat concerning seeing as she was early but everything checked out perfectly fine.

I know you guys don't know me but I really wanted to share this news with everyone I possible can, because this little girl is the first thing in a long time that has made me and my fiancee have hope for our lives together.

Welcome to the world little Mariana Jude Sanders.

Anyways guys, next update will be next weekend. Thanks for dealing with my rambling.


	5. Infection pt (3 or 3)

Joel wakes up after several hours, fully rested and without a fever. Ellie is glad to know that he is okay, and explains to him what happened while he was out. She and the woman - Medina spoke for a long time, trading stories about themselves until Joel finally woke up. She told Joel the stories too, of how Medina was a poor woman living in a safe zone with her sister until it got over run by over zealous fireflies and the infected. She had escaped with her little sister and Brian out into the wilderness, where they lived off the land for years. This house belonged to Trevor and Jamie, and when they all met they decided to form a small group of their own and only left to retrieve food or gear. Joel listens, not quite liking the way that Brian stares at them from the doorway looking into the living room.

* * *

"It should be morning pretty soon, you were out for most of the day and a little bit of the night," Ellie tells him as they gather their gear up from the bedrooms they had earlier occupied before returning to the living room.

Each member of the household is up and bouncing with energy, eating cans of old food while chatting with each other. Joel sits awkwardly to one side of the Living room while Ellie sits beside Medina and her Sister - for once at ease by the presence of total strangers; Joel could not say the same. Ellie didn't say anything but she could see that Joel was watching them all very closely, ready to attack at the first sign of danger. Somehow it warms her a little to know that Joel wouldn't let anything happen, even though she likes Medina and her group quite well.

"You know we wouldn't mind having company for another night," Medina says to them offhandedly, eyes cutting sideways to glance at Joel and then looking back to Ellie. "Its awful cold outside as well..."

"We can't stay," Joel cuts in before Ellie can even get half a word out. She looks sharply at Joel, clearly stating with her eyes her thoughts on not staying. Its been so long since shes been around anyone who isn't Joel, and who she can talk to so easily that she doesn't understand why they can't stay one more night. Medina smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Alright," She says carefully, and reluctantly. "Just..." She jumps up, moving quickly down the hall and returning seconds later with a tiny bag. Brian narrows his eyes slightly, but keeps a tight lipped smile. "Keep that wound in check, don't let it get worse. It should be fine from now on but apply this twice daily, and if...if your ever in the neighborhood you can visit alright." That last part she says to Ellie exclusively. Her softness is somewhat a shocking contrast to how brashly she shoves the bag into Ellie's hands.

That's when Ellie finally gets it. Medina is lonely, even with her sister and the others there shes all alone. The group itself never seemed so dull until she compared the others to Medina. Her sister and Jamie were both quietly playing on their own - but even they were grim looking while playing with broken toys. Trevor sat alone with his hat pulled over his face, softly snoring. And Brian didn't seem to be much of a talker at all. Ellie feels bad for Medina, because the girl seemed so nice and hospitable. Joel is right though, they have to go, there's too much ground they need to cover now that they have lost time.

"Thank you," Ellie says to Medina, sincerely. She shares a smile with the older woman and stands up. She moves beside Joel and is surprised when he holds his hand out to the woman. "Its rare to find kindness these days," Is all he says but she gets the sentiment anyways. Medina smiles and takes his hand in a firm grip before releasing to escort them to the door. "Stay safe!" Jamie calls out sheepishly, hiding behind her long bangs and smiling softly. Medina's little sister nods her agreement and even Brian quirks a half smile at the two kids. "We will," Joel assures.

"Goodbye," Ellie calls back as they cross the threshold between safety and living once more on the edge of danger.

Joel sighs, hoping they can find it in them to continue on after such rough past few days.

* * *

End Note: On The Shorter Side but the Sentiment is there. Saying goodbye to the awkward little group of Add-in characters and saying hello to a whole new plot line. Not much action this chapter, but you better believe the next will be chalk full.


	6. Cannibals pt (1 of 4)

"Can't anything ever be easy?"

Ellie stares at the open stretch of water between them and the other side of the city. It looked as if a trench of some sort was built to keep something out and it ended up filled with water. Of course, nothing can ever go easy for them. Its the middle of winter, and its been six days since they left Medina and her group behind. Joel has healed up nicely with the help of the ointment and Ellie has a new appreciation for Joel's less weary side - since they left he's been less of a cautious protector and more the person he was before this whole Winter started.

He isn't soft Per Se, but he certainly has shed some of his more gruff tendencies.

"If we had it easy the world wouldn't be such a mess," Joel comments as he dips his hand in the water. He withdraws it sharply, shocked by the icy cold feeling that spreads up his arm. "Shit, we can't go through that," He tells Ellie. "I didn't think we could anyways," She answers with a sigh, looking around herself for a way around the trench. The water seems to stretch for miles in each direction.

She takes a moment to take in the general scenery. Besides the stretch of water this city is in decent shape. Its buildings not toppling over on their sides and very few of them showing much damage to their exteriors. She knew the interiors would all be ransacked messes and stinking of rotting corpses and mildew but the world outside at least shed some beauty on what could be described as one of the most dangerous places. She hadn't wanted to come into this city but Joel insisted that it was the fastest way to cover the least amount of ground. A light sheet of snow has settled down over the place, barely marked up which is a good sign in itself. At least they wouldn't have to worry about hunters here, seeing as the city was completely quiet besides the sound of bird song - which was rare in these times. Ellie takes a deep breath and catches a faint whiff of fiery death on the air, not literal death of course but the kind of smell you can only associate with a burning body. She alerts Joel with a hand signal.

"Find something?" He questions as he comes back up from the left side of the trench where he was scouting out the area. "No, but it smells like...well..." She motions for him to take a sniff and he nods after a moment. "Like burning flesh, we should head up the bank and see if the smell leads into the city somewhere. It could be nothing but its best if we try," He says, passing by Ellie and briefly putting a hand on her shoulder. He glances back at her with a small smile, something so rare she immediately files it away in the treasure trove of her mind. "Good job," He says, and continues on his way. He looses that soft edge the moment they get closer to the smell.

This area has fresh footprints in the snow leading to what appears to be a small shack on the outskirts of the Trench, placed directly in front of a bridge leading over it. Joel puts out a hand to stop Ellie from moving forward. Just to the side of the house he can see a small fire pit with two men standing beside it. In the center of the pit lays a human body, roasting on a spit. He looks to Ellie, but her gaze is on the fire pit and the woman whose body is being turned by one of the men. "Ellie," Joel says sharply to get her attention. She looks as if she'll be sick at any moment.

"I'm fine," She mutters, turning to face him with watery eyes. Her face is pale, for a moment she struggles to keep her food in.

Yeah, Joel had thought about that as well. The men don't look like they would be a friendly couple, and from the sight of the roasting woman that thought was backed up. He silently takes his rifle in hand and motions for Ellie to do the same. "We can't just waltz up there, and I doubt these men are up to any good..." He tells her, trying to find a good reason to kill the two men who haven't even attacked them yet. "No need to justify Joel, lets just hurry up and do this," She says, reloading her own pistol and giving him a small thin-lipped smile.

"Alright," He nods grimly, "You go around that side. We can get em both at the same time to keep the noise down. I don't know if there are any others but I'd rather not fight while were out in the open like this." She nods at the plan, already sneaking quietly to get around the side of the little shack. Joel creeps forward towards the bigger man, his burly form much bigger than Joel's own. He stays a ways away, aiming at the back of his head. A man like this won't go down easy, he has to make sure this shot counts. He waits for Ellie to get in place, and then holds his hand up to single for her to wait.

Then they shoot.

Joel hits his target. Ellie misses.

The other man is just as big as the first and Joel is quick to get up as he rounds to go after Ellie. she's struggling to shoot at him but she panics after he comes after her and drops her gun. Joel curses himself as he speeds up, passing by the body of the man he had shout. The burly man that Ellie is trying to run from closes a meaty fist around her upper arm and jerks her back, making a strange growling noise in his throat as he raises his other hand to strike at her. Joel grabs that arm and pulls back, using the butt of his rifle to slam the side of his head. He drops Ellie, but at the same time catches Joel's nose with his elbow and throws him off.

Joel falls a few paces back, waiting for the man to come after him but it seems he is much more preoccupied with the lesser threat - Ellie. He's got her again, but Joel can't help this time because another man has emerged from the shack, carrying a baseball bat with him. He isn't as big as the other two men but as Joel gets up to fight him he gets in a good few swings with the bat. Joel crumples on his side, winded but determined to get up. His eyes flicker to look at Ellie, who is struggling to get away from the other man and screaming curses at him all the while.

"Let go you fucker!" The teen shouts, raking her nails down the mans face and arms, anywhere she can get to and drawing blood. She bites down hard on his hand as it moves to smack her and sinks her teeth in until his grip loosens. She falls back on her ass, scooting the few feet it takes to get to her gun and struggling to get her hands to stop shaking. She fires a few rounds at the burly monster of a man, heart thumping rapidly in her chest as memories of David flash before her eyes. Shit, why did she even have to remember that now? This isn't even like that time but she can't help the fear that races through her blood. She manages to get a good shot at the mans calf and bring him down. But he continues to come at her with all he has.

"Get the fuck away from me!" She kicks him in the face, feeling his nose crunch inward and watching blood spurt from it. He smiles, showing a row of nasty yellow teeth. His hands grip onto her as she kicks wildly, trying to reload her gun while he tears at her clothing. Her blood runs cold at the implications of his action, struggling harder to get him away.

She finally gets a damn bullet in the chamber and points the gun at the mans head, pulling the trigger quickly. He slumps over, still clutching on to her torn up pants. She gets up, loading more bullets into the pistol and looking towards Joel. He's gotten up, and is fighting off the other man. He's having a much easier time of it and finally gets the other man on the ground with a right hook. Ellie aims and fires once more, ending the mans life before Joel can. Her breath coming out in puffs of panicked air as she drops her gun again.

"Ellie!" Joel rushes to her side, watching her face carefully. Her expression is schooled but her eyes water suddenly and her body is trembling. He pulls her into a hug, comforting and soft. Something she hasn't felt since...that time with David. "I'm okay," She assures even though she isn't. Joel isn't fooled, "You don't have to be," He tells her, still gruff in the way he speaks but keeping her close. "No," She sighs, "I don't, but I am... I just... panicked..." She calms herself down enough and pulls away from Joel, they share a smile, another thing that Ellie files away in her mind. She bends to pick up her gun, placing it in the back of her torn jeans. She frowns, "Fucker really did a number on me." The entire right pant leg of her jeans are ripped up and the hem of her sweater too.

"Nothing much we can do about it right now Ellie," Joel tells her grimly. Glad she wasn't hurt any worse than that and a few bruises on her arms and sides. They would apply some first aid later but Joel really didn't want to stick around in case there were any more people around. "Come on, lets find somewhere to park it for a few hours." He tells her, making sure to take any ammo the men had on them before crossing the bridge beside her. Once on the other side they stick to the shadows of the tall buildings until they find one that looks relatively untouched to stay in for the moment.

Joel leads Ellie in, cautious as ever now that he knows there are people around. Those men couldn't have been the only ones there, because usually when there's one there's plenty more after that. They creep along the corridors of the old apartment building silently, checking each living space for supplies before coming upon one that looked like a safe enough place to rest.


End file.
